If I Started A Webhost Would This Be An OK Setup?

Host:At My House On t1-t3 Lines
Servers:IBM 1.5 GH P3 512 RAM
Management/support:Perldesk/icq/Phone/email 24/7


Would That Be Ok Starting Out?
I Might Buy A Server From RackSpace But I Want "Root"/Manual Server Area

To be honest, I would not put a server at your house to do a web hosting business. it is perfectly fine if you want to host a few friend's page. But now for business.

I recomend you start out by finding a reseller plan that would fit your budget.

Like DynastyHost said, hosting from your house is rarley a good idea. You're far better of using a colocation service for 100-200 a month per server with a secure facility, redundant connections, backup power, onsite staff, large routers and so forth than trying to buy your own lines, backups, routers, and so forth for your house.

Think of it like this, even a cheap t1 will run you 400-600 bucks a month for 1.54mbs, a cheap singlehomed colocated server can run you 200 bucks for the same bandwidth (or close) with all the extras like security and monitoring and so forth.

When all is said and done, hosting from home means you are limited by the lines you can bring in. Even if you get a few t1s, by the time you get a few boxes up, spend thousands of major routers, you'll be spending way more for a t3 than it would cost you for that much bandwidth elsewhere.

If you want to use your own machines, find a colocation facility. If you dont mind using another machine, get a dedicated box.

Good luck

If you can afford a T1-T3 line you can definately afford your own office at least but it would be much cheaper just to colocate servers at a good datacenter.

T1 is approx $1,000/month
T3 is approx $15,000/month

It would be much cheaper to colocate and the datacenters are already set up to be the best possible environment for servers... with UPS backups, generators, temperature and humidity controlled rooms, halon fire supressant systems and more.

If you're serious about starting a hosting business, think about getting a reseller plan first and then get a dedicated to learn your way around the servers. After you've got enough clients to warrant getting your own servers build or buy them and colocate them to a reputable data center.

Well, if you can be around to support it (or have someone who will) and it doesn't grow too large, it could work initially.

Rackspace is quit good. We have 3 servers there and lease our servers there since 1 year. The network has been 100% for over a year and when there is a real problem with a server they fix it quite fast. Last week we messed up the OS of 2 servers. They had to manualy boot by floppy and restore the OS. It took them one hour and they didn't charge a dime.
It's really important to have a very reliable datacenter. Imagine what happens when a server is down for a day and 400 customer are on the server... You'll get over 100 phonecalls and many customers will leave soon.

Alright, if you want a home data center, this is what your looking @ for a budget:

2 Connections ($1,000/each for T1)
1 Switch/Router ($2,000 for cheap Cisco)
Network Cable ($200 for acouple 5 foot lengths)
1 UPS Per Server ($300/each)
Cabinets/Racks ($400-$1,100 for 42u)

For barebones, that should be it just for a network. Servers are extra, but you can get them for like $1,100 from Dell.


Jim

i have extra rooms in my house i could use for a fairly good sized datacenter so i dont really need an office....if i had co-location i really couldent get to the server i would have to do it remotely :(
I Found Where I Can Get 10 MBPS T1 Lines For Only $795.00 If I Only Wanted 1.5 MB Ide Hook It Up To My Cable Line :P I Think About You Comments And I Might Save Up And Try It Thanks For Your Help!

Is that 10MB or 10Mb? - there's a big difference.

Regardless... It doesn't change the fact that if you did put a couple of T1 lines in your house and ran all the cables and routers you still wouldn't have a datacenter.

I wouldn't host my site with you primarily because of several reasons: Redundancy - without several different connections from different providers what happens if one goes down?
Backup - where will you keep backups? Will you have them off-site in case of an emergency?
Fire protection - Are you going to install a halon fire protection ssytem in your house so in the event of a fire you won't kill all the pc's by spraying water on them?
Blackout - what happens if the power goes out? Are you going to have UPS backups and maybe a generator for long blackouts of more than a few minutes?These are the things that make a datacenter a datacenter. Check out www.dialtone.com and take their datacenter tour. Most are just like that. Hosting freinds sites in your basement is one thing but running a real datacenter is completely different.

Plus, one big thing, who would really pay for hosting in your datacenter if they could get world-class hosting in a world-class datacenter for the same, or alittle more than what you are offering.

I think the only way you could get customers is if you were extremely cheap (i.e. $15/year) or free.

Just an FYI

Jim

you should also consider some security as well. Once people find out you have a nice collection of computer equipment lying around, the businesses hosted on those servers may be a bit disappointed to know their online presense was secured with little more than a deadbolt from the outside world.

Greg Moore

Have you looked into getting a T1 at your house. I know that I can't get one at my house so I am going to have to rent a dedicated server from a real hosting company. It is also cheaper to just rent a server.

a 10mbps t1 line? is it like a 10-pound quarterpounder?

Where can I get in on these 10MBPS, hell even a 10Mbps T1 line would be a awsome deal...

Matter fact what company is making those? Please tell so I can buy up all the stock possible..

T1 = 1.5Mbps

The only T1 pipe that supports 10 anything would be a crack pipe

Originally posted by cyberlot
Where can I get in on these 10MBPS, hell even a 10Mbps T1 line would be a awsome deal...

Matter fact what company is making those? Please tell so I can buy up all the stock possible..

T1 = 1.5Mbps

The only T1 pipe that supports 10 anything would be a crack pipe

LOL!!! :laugh: